Dare to Love

by Carly Phillips

  By the time the weekend rolled around, she was ready for anything, almost wishing he’d take that next step. He pulled up to Prime 112 and left his Porsche with the valet.

  The hostess greeted him with a warm smile. “Mr. Dare, it’s wonderful to see you. Your usual table?”

  He inclined his head. “Thank you, Maria.”

  He’d reserved a table with a view but one that still afforded them privacy. With no booths, he still didn’t sit across from her. Instead, he held out her chair then sat beside her.

  Prime 112 was one of the more exclusive steak restaurants in Miami and not somewhere she’d been to before. “You’re a steak man?” she asked when they were settled.

  “I come here for the burgers,” he said without looking at the menu.

  She opened a large leather binder and looked through the options, her mouth watering at the array of choices. “Thirty dollars for a burger?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  “Kobe beef. It’s the best.”

  Oh, really? She folded her arms across her chest and nodded. “Then I’ll have the same.” If the man was that crazy, she figured why not join him.

  He eyed her with an indulgent expression she wasn’t sure she appreciated.

  “Order what you like. You don’t have to eat a burger because I am. Or because you think it’s one of the inexpensive options.”

  She curled her fingers around the menu. “I like hamburger,” she said, fighting off the blush caused by him having figured her out.

  “Good. My siblings agreed to come over on Sunday for dinner, so I’ll put those burgers on the menu.”

  “I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.”

  “But will you?”

  She glanced up at him. “I won’t be there.”

  He reached out, and when he covered her hand with his, she was surprised visible sparks didn’t fly from the heat his touch generated.

  “Yes, you will.”

  She decided it was time to explain a few things to him. “Just because you got your way this whole week and we’ve had dinner together every night doesn’t mean you can say jump and I’ll ask how high.” She met his stare, wanting to him to understand she was serious.

  Ian heard the insistence in Riley’s voice and knew immediately she wasn’t kidding. In business or in his personal life, he wasn’t used to not getting his way. His usual MO would be to steamroll over the opposition, but Riley wasn’t his adversary. He wanted to know her inside and out.

  She was different from the other women he knew. She was independent. She had spunk. All qualities he appreciated because few women argued with what he wanted. Only his sisters came to mind. Which meant he had to change tactics or she’d bolt. To his shock, he found himself doing a rewind.

  “Let me start over. Will you come to dinner on Sunday?” He inched closer. “Please?” He stroked the top of her soft hand with his rougher fingers.

  She swallowed hard, her delicate throat moving up and down as she reacted to him.

  “Don’t you think the first time you meet with your siblings you should all be alone?” she asked.

  Ian groaned at her accurate assessment. “Yes, you’re probably right. But that doesn’t mean I can do it.” He stopped short of saying he needed her, but she’d be an ideal buffer between them. “I’d appreciate it if you’d come,” he said, managing to hang on to his dignity.

  She bit the inside of her cheek, clearly still uncertain. “I think I’d only cause more problems between you and Alex. Not to mention between me and Alex. I still have to tell him about the job.”

  Ian grimaced. He didn’t want Alex getting in the way of his affair with this woman but was forced to acknowledge his half brother had been in her life first. Which meant Ian was going to have to give when it came to the other man. Didn’t mean he had to like it.

  “Talk to Alex and get back to me,” he said, giving her more leeway in her decision than he wanted to.

  “I—”

  “Can I take your drink order?” a waiter asked, interrupting as he stepped up to the table.

  “We need some time,” Ian snapped at the man, his gaze never leaving Riley’s. If he broke eye contact, she’d withdraw and say no.

  The waiter walked away.

  She leaned closer, her sweet scent kicking his awareness of her into even higher gear. “I’ll talk to Alex if you tell me one thing.”

  He raised an eyebrow, amused that she gave as good as he did. “What is it?”

  “The other day, with your sister, when you were talking about inviting your siblings, you said something about making a deal with the devil. You looked at me and said it was worth it. What did you mean?”

  She was also perceptive. “Alex wouldn’t share your contact information with me. To get it, I had to ask my father. He had…conditions.”

  She tilted her head. “Go on.”

  “In exchange for your address and phone number, I agreed to reach out to my half siblings.”

  She blinked, her gaze softening. “You did that for me?”

  “I wanted to apologize for not returning your call. I needed to know what Alex meant when he said it was too late for me to help you.”

  She exhaled slowly, pursing her lips together as she blew out a long stream of air.

  He’d been deliberately slow and methodical with her, taking his time. But he wanted nothing more than to taste those lips and plumb the depths of her warm, wet mouth. Throughout the week, he’d been hard most of the time, thinking about her in the same building, dying for a taste. At home, alone, he’d taken himself in hand. If he wanted her in bed, he had to keep to the plan and stop pushing her around, but it wasn’t easy. He was who he was, and there was only so much he could temper. From the sudden warmth in her expression, he’d begun making headway.

  “Look, you obviously know things between Alex’s side of the family and mine are strained. I hoped you’d come on Sunday to ease the tension. You’re friends with Alex and now you’re—” Tread lightly, he warned himself.

  “I’m what?” she asked, a smile lifting her lips.

  “You’re involved with me.” Blunt but not so aggressive she’d bolt. All in all, he figured he’d handled that well.

  She laughed, the sound brightening his evening. “Is that what you think? A couple of dinners and we’re involved?”

  “By Sunday when they all show up, we will be.”

  * * *

  After a week of him wining and dining her, keeping a respectful distance while luring her in with his domineering personality and erotic kisses, Riley decided Ian Dare was too much. He epitomized danger wrapped in a too-appealing package.

  She eyed him in the quiet that fell during coffee, using the time to compare him to past relationships, none of which were all that recent. Nobody piqued her interest the way he had. Probably because Riley’s usual taste in men ran to the predictable and safe. Being raised by a bully determined to have his own way with no regard to the emotional destruction left in his wake, Riley made no apologies for choosing carefully. She was immune to hardened, take-charge men.

  So she ought to be immune to Ian and his charm.

  She wasn’t.

  She did, however, wonder just how charismatic her father had been toward her stepmother before she married him and, too late, had seen his other side. Riley mentally pursued that possibility and immediately discounted the notion that Douglas Taylor had ever come close to Ian Dare in charm. Though her father had clearly known how to hide his darker self, never in his lifetime had he been endearing. Her stepmother, Melissa, admitted she’d been drawn to his neediness during his hospitalization, a weakness in herself she’d made certain she got over after the divorce. She might have been seduced by his good looks, but his charm? Not so much.

  To even think about putting Ian and her father in the same category was insulting, and Ian didn’t deserve it. But that didn’t mean he was safe.

  No matter how strong her heart beat when he was near, no matter how wet her panties when
he turned his focus solely her way, no matter…what, she thought, desperately trying to remind herself why she needed to keep her distance. Alex had already pointed out Ian’s penchant for jumping from woman to woman. Wasn’t that warning enough for her to stay away? It should have been, but when it came to this man, she feared she was fighting a losing battle.

  “What’s going on in that active mind of yours?” Ian asked over dessert.

  “I’m thinking about you,” she admitted, deciding straightforward was the way to go.

  He raised a brow, obviously surprised at her honest admission.

  “I was just thinking about how bossy you can be.”

  “Because I insisted you order the Fried Oreos with French vanilla ice cream instead of the warm chocolate chunk cookies?” he asked with an amused smile.

  She couldn’t help but grin. “You know what I mean.”

  “I’m not going to apologize for who I am.” He lifted her hand and threaded her fingers through his larger ones. “For you, though, I’m willing to…temper those impulses.”

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  “Certain times, certain places, however, I expect you to let go of your inhibitions and enjoy it.” His tone deepened, leaving no doubt to his meaning.

  Just to be sure though… “What sort of places?” she asked.

  “I expect you to give yourself over to me completely in bed. To do as I say without hesitation or question.” He raised her hand and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to her palm. “I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

  Her breath shot out in one long stream of air, and dizziness assaulted her both at his words and the silken slide of his tongue against her skin. Good God, she wanted to experience Ian just like this, at his most dominant. The thought of submitting to him physically and giving him complete control over her pleasure caused a rush of heated anticipation to fire her blood and crash through every one of her defenses against him.

  She swallowed hard. “I—”

  “Yes?”

  Those mesmerizing eyes bored deeply into hers, filled with the kind of erotic promise she’d only dreamed about. “I want…I mean I need…” She didn’t know what she meant to say. Every available thought was now centered where a throbbing pulse beat between her thighs.

  In an instant, he’d focused all her awareness on sleeping with him. On what it would feel like to have him sliding deep inside of her and coaxing multiple orgasms from her sex-deprived body.

  God, the man was potent. And completely irresistible.

  “What do you say? Come home with me,” he said. Asked.

  She wasn’t sure which, nor did she really care.

  FIVE

  Trembling with desire, Riley barely remembered the car ride back to Ian’s place. He pulled into the driveway of the Ritz Condominiums. It came as no surprise to her that he lived in a place that offered all hotel amenities while being privately owned. He came around to her side of the car and took her hand, pulling her from the passenger seat. He maneuvered her close to him as they walked into the lobby, held her beside him as they took the elevator to the top floor. She was enveloped in his heady, seductive scent. His body heat spiked her own temperature, the neediness pulsing through her core adding to the anticipation of what was to come.

  The ding of the elevator’s arrival on his floor startled her. They stepped directly into his apartment, and the door closed shut behind them. Before she could take in her surroundings, he spun her around until her back hit the wall, and his mouth came down hard on hers.

  His lips were firm and demanding, taking what he wanted and making her need everything he had to give. She could only wrap her arms around his neck and go along for the ride. His mouth tackled her with expertise, his tongue gliding over her lips, sliding inside.

  She parted willingly, taking him in, and the moment his tongue touched hers, he let out a shuddering groan that told her exactly what she did to him. The ability to have a maddening effect on this tightly controlled man excited her, but the minute she slid her fingers into his hair, he broke the kiss.

  Startled, she blinked up at him, wondering if disappointment showed on her face.

  His eyes dark and needy, he met her gaze. “I need to see you come apart for me.”

  She let out a relieved breath and somehow managed a brief nod, wanting the same thing. Did he think she’d argue?

  He took one of her hands and placed her palm against the wall, then did the same with the other. “And I can’t do that if you’re touching me,” he said on a low growl that had her stomach churning with excitement. “Don’t move.”

  She swallowed hard, her hands pressed against the wall, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

  His gaze never leaving hers, he undid her blouse, one button, then the next, and the next, his large, tanned hands an erotic picture against the soft silk of her blouse. He took his time undressing her, the slow anticipation causing her nipples to peak and harden.

  “I can’t wait to see you naked,” he said in a deep voice, easing the silk off her shoulders.

  Her shirt fell to the floor in a soft whoosh, leaving her in a lacy bra and her black pencil skirt. He stared at her then, his searing gaze taking in her full breasts, so much more than the handful she always imagined most men preferred.

  Her sex clenched, moisture soaking her panties.

  “So damned hot,” he muttered, staring.

  She felt awkward standing before him half dressed, her hands pressed against the wall, waiting for him to make the next move. The urge to touch him, to participate, to undress him and see his magnificent body was strong.

  Just as she was about to move, his words from earlier came back to her. I expect you to give yourself over to me completely in bed. To do as I say without hesitation or question.

  So as his eyes dilated with approval, she let him look his fill. And as he did, his erection grew larger, thicker. She did that to him, and the knowledge empowered her, allowing her to remain still and in place.

  “I’ve dreamed about the way you might taste. Are you sweet, Riley?” he asked, his voice gruff and sexy.

  Her lips parted, but no words came out. She didn’t think he expected an answer, not that she could provide one.

  He reached out, pushing the cup of her bra beneath her breast, and tweaked her nipple, beginning a steady massage of one breast that felt so good she arched, pushing herself into his hand.

  His touch was molten, branding her, and when he twisted her nipple, her sex pulsed with need, and dampness soaked her even more. Her breath came in short pants, and she squirmed in place, trying to squeeze her legs together to alleviate the empty, aching neediness he effortlessly created.

  “No,” he said in a sharp tone that had her obeying while, the throbbing in her clit intensified. “I told you not to move, and when you come, you’re going to know it’s me who brought you there.”

  A moan escaped her lips, and she flushed in embarrassment.

  “You’re so fucking perfect,” he said, his hands moving to her other breast, giving it the same diligent treatment, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, watching her face as her hips bucked forward.

  “I think it’s time I find out if you taste as good as I imagined.” He leaned down and sucked one distended nipple into his mouth.

  Stars exploded in front of her eyes, and the ragged sound that escaped from her throat surprised even her. “Ian, please,” she begged, gripping his arm in her hand.

  “Back in place,” he snapped, and her hands immediately hit the wall once more.

  She wanted to touch him, hoped he’d allow her later. For now? He’d barely played with her breasts, and already she knew she’d do anything he demanded if only he’d give her the orgasm she desperately needed.

  “Good girl,” he said, turning his attention to her next breast. “Is this what you need?” He bit gently on her nipple, and a full-body tremor shook her so hard she was surprised her knees didn’t give way.

&
nbsp; “Holy shit,” she muttered, eliciting a dark laugh from him before he licked around the throbbing peak.

  “I have a question,” she managed to ask.

  He stroked her cheek with one hand, his touch so gentle and caring he took her breath away. “Ask away.”

  “Do I?”

  “Do you what?” Ian asked, surprised by the hesitancy in her tone.

  She swallowed, the muscles in her neck moving up and down, making Ian want to growl and mark her there. Something about this woman called to his deepest protective instincts. For all her bravado and independence, there was an innocence inside her that provided a counterbalance to his more jaded personality. From the minute he’d mentioned her giving him control in bed, her blue eyes had dilated and darkened with a need that matched the desire pulsing inside his veins. He’d known she would be the perfect counterpoint to his subtle need for control.

  Looking at her now, dark curls wild around her face and shoulders, lips damp from his kisses, eyes wide with wonder, instinct told him he was right.

  “You can ask me anything,” he assured her.

  “Do I taste as good as you thought?”

  That one question nearly brought him to his knees. He swept her into his arms and headed for the bedroom, depositing her squarely in the middle of his king-sized, four-poster bed.

  He came down over her, his arms bracketing her surprised face, and pressed a hard, hot kiss over her lips. “You.” He kissed her again, more thoroughly this time. “Taste.” He delved deeper, sweeping his tongue throughout her luscious, hot mouth. “So fucking good.”

  She moaned and wrapped herself around his neck, holding him close. And though normally he’d push back and take charge, her arms around him felt too good to worry about maintaining control and distance. He kissed her back, all the while maneuvering his fingers beneath her skirt and panties, pushing the garments down her hips and thighs, until she edged away so she could get rid of the damned annoying barrier herself.